Horsemen of Tackle Emerald City Comic Con 2019!
Hello! Horsemen Of here, and we just got back from an incredible time at Emerald City Comic Con or ECCCCCCCC… (as we affectionately refer to it). Emerald is, hands down, one of our favorite conventions to attend. We look forward to it every year and even when we make a pact to try new conventions, we always end up back here!
Why do we love this con so much?
One of the main reasons we love it so much is the city! ECCC is in the heart of downtown Seattle. Located within walking distance from Pike’s Market Place, Puget Sound, the Space Needle, MOPOP and so much more making site seeing very easy. We also are amazed how incredibly friendly the people are and how fantastic the food is!
The con has a lot to offer both new and veteran con go-ers so we want to give you a feel for both the city and con, since traveling to new or loved places is half of the reason we go to out of state cons. Here is how we roll through Seattle.
Every glorious morning, rain, snow, rain, or rain, we wake up and walk to Pike’s Place Public Market. ECCC is the one con that finding affordable and fast breakfast is truly an easy and enjoyable experience. We always stop at Mee Sum Pasty to get bao buns (and a rice thing for our Gluten Free Horsemen Jackie) then we head off to find coffee from one of the many specialty coffee places nearby. Two of our favs are Storyteller Roastery and Ghost Alley Coffee. Ghost Alley is always an experience, they have a “mystery mocha” where the barista asks if you are allergic to anything, hate or love anything and makes you a unique mocha from that. Then you try to guess what they put in it. We have never once been dissapointed with their choices. After we’ve meandered through the market for any snacks for later or must haves to take back, we get ready for the con.
Seattle is a wonderfully walkable city and staying close to Pike’s Place means having an easy route right up Pike Street to the con. Their tram system is also a straight shot from the airport to the heart of downtown so no expensive ride shares needed! This makes visiting Seattle often incredibly easy! We spend many a break just walking around and looking at all the fun shops around downtown. You get exercise and have fun all in one!
Ok back to the con. Once you get passed the hundreds of small humans shouting about cookies, (we referred to them as the cookie mafia) you reach the many leveled con area. This was the first year they had security check points at the entrances and they did a great job of keeping the lines moving fast. Once in, you are met with a beautiful multi-level convention center with lots of open windows to see where Emerald City Comic Con received it’s name sake. All of the greenery surrounding and inhabiting every corner of the city, something us Phonecians aren’t used to.
This year they organized the areas by interests, so if you were looking for cosplay panels for instance, they were all in the same area. Workshops were another new addition this year, which was a fun concept and one we would like to see more cons try. The panels at ECCC are carefully curated to make sure that the same ones are not happening every year and to allow new ideas come in so it’s not always the same old same ol. We love hosting panels here as people are so engaged and largely interested. ECCC is where we are always greeted with a full room for any panel which was a huge surprise to us the first year!
The floors are also organized in a similar manner, big publishers with signing opportunities in one area, vending in another, and artist alley in another area. This really helps with crowd control and allows people to immerse themselves in specific interests one at a time.
The cosplay competition is another draw. It’s the pre-qualifier for C2E2‘s cosplay world championships and everyone brings their A game. It gets a little crowded so they stream it on Twitch. The judges are experts in their fields and everyone is so excited and supportive of one another.
The other aspect of ECCC we love to point out is the incredibly beautiful park that butts up with the convention center. This park is straight out of a Ghibli movie, cherry blossom trees, dogwoods, emerald green grass, it’s just wonderful to step out from a stuffy hall into. There are many sections of this park with a few different levels so there is room for everyone. That being said, this is where the photographers go, so if you’re looking to meet a new photographer or planning a shoot, this makes both of those things beautifully accessible.
Seattle to us has it all, from wonderful people, to beautiful landscapes, interesting panels, a vibrant and varied artist alley, and delicious food and beverages. It really is a full vacation. And we recommend everyone make their way up to this beautiful place at least once!
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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